Isothermal dna amplification

ABSTRACT

Provided herein are nucleic acid synthesis methods and agents that employ an endonuclease for example, endonuclease V, to introduce a nick into a target DNA including one or more inosine, and uses a DNA polymerase to generate amplicons of the target DNA.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/621,703, which was filed on Jan. 10, 2007, and entitled ISOTHERMAL DNA AMPLIFICATION, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to nucleic acid synthesis methods and agents that employ an endonuclease, for example, endonuclease V, to introduce a nick into a target DNA including one or more 2′ deoxyinosine nucleosides, and employs a DNA polymerase to amplify a specific sequence DNA target.

BACKGROUND

DNA replication is the process of copying single or double-stranded DNA. Because DNA strands are antiparallel and complementary, each strand may serve as a template for the reproduction of the opposite strand by a DNA polymerase. The template strand is preserved as a whole or as a truncated portion and the new strand is assembled from nucleoside triphosphates.

In polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the target DNA, a pair of primers, and a DNA polymerase are combined and subjected to repeated temperature changes that permit melting, annealing, and elongation steps. The melting or denaturation step typically occurs at a high temperature limiting the choice of polymerases to thermophilic polymerases.

Endonuclease V (also called endo V or inosine 3′ endonuclease) is a DNA repair enzyme first described in E. coli that recognizes DNA containing nucleotides with deaminated or otherwise modified bases such as inosine. Endonuclease V cleaves the second or third phosphodiester bond 3′ to the inosine in the same strand leaving a nick with 3′-hydroxyl and 5′-phosphate. DNA polymerases add nucleotides to the 3′ end of a pre-existing DNA strand resulting in 5′->3′ elongation in a template-directed fashion to create a complementary strand.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Provided herein are methods, agents, and kits for producing an amplification product using a target DNA. In some embodiments, the methods comprise the steps of (a) providing a target DNA; (b) annealing at least one inosine-containing primer to the target DNA to create a target DNA:primer hybrid; (c) combining the target DNA:primer hybrid with a nuclease, which is capable of nicking DNA 3′ to an inosine residue; and (d) adding at least one DNA polymerase and a dNTP mixture to the DNA:primer hybrid mixture and allowing the combination to act repeatedly initiating strand displacement synthesis thereby producing additional complementary copies of the target DNA strand. In some embodiments, steps (a)-(d) may occur substantially simultaneously. In alternative embodiments, step (b) may occur before step (c). In some embodiments, all of steps (a)-(d) occur within a temperature range of 1° C., 5° C., or 10° C.

In some embodiments multiple paired forward and reverse inosine-containing primers are annealed to the target DNA. The multiple paired multiple primers may optionally include at least one extender template. In some primers, the inosine may be positioned at least 4 nucleotides from the 5′ end of the primer. The inosine-containing primer may be 5 to 100 nucleotides in length, 5 to 30 nucleotides in length, or 5 to 20 nucleotides in length. In some embodiments the inosine-containing primer may demonstrate a melting temperature of 25° C. to 70° C., 30° C. to 65° C., or 40° C. to 55° C. in the reaction mixture. In some embodiments, the inosine-containing primer demonstrates a melting temperature of 45° C. in the reaction mixture.

In some embodiments the nuclease may be an endonuclease V, for example, E. coli endonuclease V, A. fulgidus Endonuclease V, or T. maritime endonuclease V. In some embodiments, the endonuclease V may be from a protein the sequence of which consists of SEQ ID NO.:1, SEQ ID NO.:2, SEQ ID NO.:3, or conservative variants thereof.

The dNTP mixture may consist of dTTP, dGTP, dATP, and dCTP, or analogs thereof, which are each present in the reaction mixture at a final concentration of 10 μM to 20,000 μM, 100 μM to 1000 μM, or 200 μM to 300 μM.

In some embodiments, the methods of producing an amplicon may further comprise the step of denaturing (e.g., chemically or thermally) the target DNA prior to the annealing step. In embodiments where the target DNA is chemically denatured, glycerol, ethylene glycol, or formamide at a final concentration of 1% (vol./vol.) to 25% (vol./vol.) may be employed. In embodiments where the target DNA is thermally denatured the denaturing step comprises thermally denaturing the target DNA (e.g., by heating the target DNA at 95° C.).

The reaction mixture may further include a buffer selected from Tris, HEPES, or MOPS. In some embodiments, the reaction mixture further comprises a surfactant selected from Tween-20, NP-40, Triton-X-100, or a combination thereof. In yet other embodiments, the reaction mixture may include a divalent cation selected from Mn⁺², Mg⁺², or a combination thereof, which may be present in the reaction mixture at a final concentration of 2 mM to 6 mM.

The reaction mixture may further include a reducing agent (e.g., dithiothreitol (DTT), 2-mercaptoethanol βME), 2-mercaptoethylamine (MEA), or Tris(carboxyethyl) phosphine (TCEP)). In some embodiments, the reaction mixture may include at least one single stranded DNA binding protein (e.g., E. coli SSB, T4 gene 32 protein, T7 gene 2.5 protein, Ncp7, recA, or combinations thereof). In some embodiments, at least one single stranded DNA binding protein may be present in the reaction mixture at a final concentration of at least 0.1 ng/microliter.

In some embodiments, the reaction mixture may also include at least one blocking agent comprising albumin (e.g., BSA or HSA). In some other embodiments reaction mixture may include at least one topoisomerase (e.g., a type 1 topoisomerase). In some embodiments, the topoisomerase may be present in the reaction mixture at a final concentration of at least 0.1 ng/microliter. In all embodiments, the target DNA is of eukaryotic origin, prokaryotic origin, viral origin, bacteriophage origin, or synthetic origin.

Also provided herein are amplicon production kits, which may comprise: at least one inosine-containing primer; at least one DNA polymerase (e.g., exonuclease deficient T7 DNA polymerase, Bst DNA polymerase, exo (−) Klenow, delta Tts DNA polymerase, or combinations thereof); a buffer (e.g., Tris, HEPES, or MOPS); a dNTP mixture (e.g., a combination of dTTP, dGTP, dATP, and dCTP, or analogs thereof); and at least one nuclease that is capable of nicking DNA at a residue 3′ to an inosine residue (e.g., an endonuclease V). In some embodiments, the endonuclease V is selected from a protein the sequence of which consists of SEQ ID NO.:1, SEQ ID NO.: 2, SEQ ID NO.: 3, or conservative variants thereof.

In some embodiments, at least one inosine-containing primer comprises multiple paired forward and reverse inosine-containing primers, which optionally may include at least one extender template. In some embodiments, the inosine is positioned at least 4 nucleotides from the 5′ end of the inosine-containing primer. In some embodiments, the inosine-containing primer is 5 to 100 nucleotides in length, 5 to 30 nucleotides in length, or 5 to 20 nucleotides in length. In still other embodiments, the inosine-containing primer demonstrates a melting temperature of 25° C. to 70° C., 30° C. to 65° C., or 40° C. to 55° C.

In some embodiments, the amplicon production kit may further comprise a chemical denaturant (e.g., glycerol, ethylene glycol, or formamide). In yet other embodiments, the buffer may include a surfactant (e.g., Tween-20, NP-40, Triton-X-100, or a combination thereof). In some embodiments the amplicon production kit may further include one or more divalent cations (e.g., Mn⁺², Mg⁺², or a combination thereof), which may be present in the buffer at a final concentration of 2 mM to 6 mM. In some embodiments, the amplicon production kit of claim may further comprise a reducing agent (e.g., dithiothreitol (DTT), 2-mercaptoethanol (βME), 2-mercaptoethylamine (MEA), or Tris(carboxyethyl) phosphine (TCEP).

In some embodiments, the amplicon production kit may further comprise at least one single stranded DNA binding protein (e.g., E. coli SSB, T4 gene 32 protein, T7 gene 2.5 protein, Ncp7, recA, or combinations thereof).

In yet other embodiments, the amplicon production kit further comprises at least one at least one blocking agent comprising albumin and/or at least one topoisomerase.

FIGURES

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying figures wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a general scheme for inosine-based amplicon production.

FIG. 2 depicts several synthesis schemes presented as a single series. The synthesis schemes shown in FIG. 2 provide methods for generating plus strands from a target DNA using a forward primer; generating minus strands using a reverse primer; addition of a promoter to the DNA product using an extender template; and generating RNA products using an RNA polymerase capable of initiating synthesis at the promoter that was added with the extender template.

FIG. 3 shows a general scheme for detecting amplicons using paired fluorescent and quenching chromophores attached to oligonucleotides connected by hybridization to an extender template.

FIG. 4 depicts the use of a variety of polymerases to produce amplicons from a target DNA (“Ban 1”), in which a single primer or multiple primers (forward and reverse) were employed as described in the Example 2.

FIG. 5 depicts amplicon production using multiple sets of nested primers in several different reaction mixtures as described in Example 4.

FIG. 6 depicts in vitro translation, variations in divalent cation, and variations in single strand binding proteins described in Example 5 below. FIG. 6A shows a gel with the DNA products and FIG. 6B shows a gel with the RNA products.

FIG. 7 shows the reaction products using a variety of SSB concentrations as described in Example 6.

FIG. 8 depicts amplicon extension using an extension template as described in Example 7.

FIG. 9 depicts amplification using genomic DNA template as described in Example 8.

FIG. 10 shows amplicon generation from lambda DNA and the effects of contaminating DNA as described in Example 9.

FIG. 11 depicts the relative activities of the WT endonuclease V to the activity of the mutant endonuclease V as described in Example 12.

FIG. 12 demonstrates that both WT and mutant endonuclease V nucleases act on inosine-containing DNA but substantially not on the guanine-containing DNA as described in Example 13.

FIG. 13 demonstrates that the nuclease/polymerase combination generates amplicon DNA from inosine-containing DNA but not on the guanine-containing DNA as described in the Example 14.

FIG. 14 depicts the results of a series of experiments that demonstrate the ability of the Y75A Archaeoglobus fulgidus (“Afu”) endonuclease V variant (SEQ ID NO.:3) and the E. coli endonuclease V variant (SEQ ID NO.:2) to function with polymerase to generate amplicons from target DNA as described in Example 15.

FIG. 15 shows the thermal stability of the Y75A E. coli endonuclease V variant (SEQ ID NO.:3) at a variety of temperatures as described in Example 16.

FIG. 16 shows the results of real-time DNA amplification as described in Example 17.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is exemplary and not intended to limit the invention of the application and uses of the invention. Furthermore, there is no intention to be limited by any theory presented in the preceding background of the invention of the following detailed description of the figures.

To more clearly and concisely describe and point out the subject matter of the claimed invention, the following definitions are provided for specific terms that are used in the following description and the claims appended hereto.

The term “amplicon” generally refers to a DNA amplification product containing one or more target DNA sequences that result from the amplification of a target DNA driven by endonuclease nicking of an inosine-containing primer coupled with polymerase extension. Amplicons may be generated using a single inosine-containing primer, paired inosine-containing primers, or nested-paired inosine-containing primers. An amplicon may comprise single-stranded or double-stranded DNA, DNA:RNA hybrids, or RNA.

Amplicons may comprise a mixture of amplification products (i.e., a mixed amplicon population), several dominant species of amplification products (i.e., multiple, discrete amplicons), or a single dominant species of amplification product. In some embodiments, a single species of amplicon may be isolated from a mixed population using art-recognized techniques, such as affinity purification or electrophoresis. An amplicon may be largely single-stranded or partially or completely double-stranded DNA, DNA:RNA hybrids, or RNA depending on the reaction scheme used.

“Biological sample” as used herein refers to a sample obtained from a biological subject that contains or is suspected of containing target nucleic acids. A biological sample also includes samples from a region of a biological subject containing diseased cells. A biological sample may be of eukaryotic origin, for example, insects, protozoa, birds, fish, reptiles, and preferably a mammal, for example, rat, mouse, cow, dog, guinea pig, or rabbit, or a primate, for example, chimpanzees or humans. Alternatively, a biological sample may be of prokaryotic origin or viral or bacteriophage origin.

The term “conservative variants” as used herein applies to both amino acid and nucleic acid sequences. With respect to particular nucleic acid sequences, the term “conservative variants” refers to those nucleic acids that encode identical or similar amino acid sequences and include degenerate sequences. For example, the codons GCA, GCC, GCG, and GCU all encode alanine. Thus, at every amino acid position where an alanine is specified, any of these codons may be used interchangeably in constructing a corresponding nucleotide sequence. Such nucleic acid variants are conservative variants, since they encode the same protein (assuming that is the only alternation in the sequence). One skilled in the art recognizes that each codon in a nucleic acid, except for AUG (sole codon for methionine) and UGG (tryptophan), may be modified conservatively to yield a functionally identical peptide or protein molecule. As to amino acid sequences, one skilled in the art will recognize that substitutions, deletions, or additions to a polypeptide or protein sequence which alter, add or delete a single amino acid or a small number (typically less than about ten) of amino acids is a “conservative variant” where the alteration results in the substitution of one amino acid with a chemically similar amino acid.

The term “complementary,” as used herein, refers to the capacity for precise pairing between nucleotides within an oligonucleotide or polynucleotide. For example, A (adenosine) pairs with T (thymine) and G (guanosine) pairs with C (cytosine) by hydrogen bonding. If a nucleotide at a certain position of an oligonucleotide is capable of hydrogen bonding with a nucleotide at a corresponding position within a DNA molecule, then the oligonucleotide and the DNA are considered to be complementary to each other at that position. The whole oligonucleotide and the DNA are considered complementary to each other when a sufficient number of corresponding positions in each have nucleotides that hydrogen bond with each other.

As used herein, the term “dNTP mixture” generally refers to a combination of deoxynucleotides containing a phosphate, sugar and organic base in the triphosphate form, that provide precursors required by a DNA polymerase for DNA synthesis. A dNTP mixture may include each of the naturally occurring deoxynucleotides (i.e., adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), uracil (U), and Thymine (T)). In some embodiments, each of the naturally occurring deoxynucleotides may be replaced or supplemented with a synthetic analog; provided however that inosine may not replace or supplement G in a dNTP mixture.

As used herein the term “inosine” refers to a 2′-deoxyribonucleoside or ribonucleoside having an analog of the normal bases, particularly the deaminated or similar bases recognized and cleaved by endonuclease V when encountered in DNA. As used herein the term “inosine analog” refers to a 2′-deoxyribonucleoside or ribonucleoside wherein the base includes, for example, hypoxanthine (i.e., inosine proper), xanthine, uridine, oxanine (oxanosine), other O-1 purine analogs, N-6-hydroxylaminopurine, nebularine, 7-deaza hypoxanthine, other 7-deazapurines, and 2-methyl purines.

As used herein the term “inosine containing primer” refers to a primer including at least one inosine or inosine analog.

A “purified” or “isolated” polypeptide or polynucleotide is one that is substantially free of the materials with which it is associated in nature. By substantially free is meant at least 50%, preferably at least 70%, more preferably at least 80%, even more preferably at least 90% free of the materials with which it is associated in nature.

As used herein the term “primer” generally refers to a linear oligonucleotide that is complementary to and anneals to a target sequence. The lower limit on primer length is determined by ability to hybridize since very short primers (less than 5 nucleotides long) do not form thermodynamically stable duplexes under most hybridization conditions. Primers may vary in length from 8 to 50 nucleotides. In some embodiments the primer ranges in length from 15 nucleotides to 25 nucleotides. Suitable primers include at least one inosine positioned near the 3′ end of the primer (e.g., at penultimate nucleotide of the 3′ end of the primer). As used herein the term “forward primer” refers to a primer that includes an inosine at the penultimate 3′ position, which anneals to one particular strand of the target DNA. As used herein the term “reverse primer” refers to a primer that includes an inosine at the penultimate 3′ position that anneals to the opposite strand of the target. Together a forward primer and a reverse primer are generally oriented on the target DNA sequence in a manner analogous to PCR primers, so that their 3′ ends are both closer to the target sequence than their 5′ ends. Both naturally occurring (G, A, C, and T) and analog nucleotides are useful as component nucleotides for primers.

As used herein the term “melting temperature” with respect to a primer refers to the temperature at which 50% of primer-DNA hybrids dissociate into free primer and DNA. The melting temperature of a primer increases with its length. The melting temperature of a primer can also depend on its nucleotide composition. Thus primers with many G and C nucleotides will melt at a higher temperature than ones that only have A and T nucleotides. High melting temperatures (e.g., above 65° C.) and very high melting temperatures (e.g., above 80° C.), may be disfavored in certain embodiments because some DNA polymerases denature and lose activity at high temperatures. Because ionic strength also affects the melting temperature of a primer, all melting temperature values provided herein are determined at a pH of 7.7 with 5 mM MgCl₂ and 50 mM NaCl.

As used herein, the terms “reducing agent” and “reducing agents” refer to agents that reduce disulfides to mercaptans. Suitable reducing agents may contain thiol groups such as dithiothreitol (DTT), 2-mercaptoethanol (βME), and 2-mercaptoethylamine (MEA). Alternatively, reducing agents may contain phosphines and their derivatives, for example Tris(carboxyethyl) phosphine (TCEP).

As used herein the term “single strand DNA binding protein” abbreviated as “ssb” refers to proteins that bind non-covalently to single stranded DNA with a higher affinity than to double stranded DNA. Suitable examples of single strand binding proteins include, but are not limited to, E. coli SSB, T4 gene 32 protein, T7 gene 2.5 protein, Ncp7, recA, or combinations thereof.

As used herein the term “target DNA” refers to a DNA sequence region of natural or synthetic origin that may be synthesized or amplified using one of more of the methods of the present invention.

As used herein, the term “template” refers to the portion of the target DNA used by DNA polymerase produce one or more amplicons.

As used herein, the term “transformed cell” means a cell into which (or into predecessor or an ancestor of which) a nucleic acid molecule encoding a polypeptide of the invention has been introduced, by means of, for example, recombinant DNA techniques or viruses.

The term “vector” refers to any autonomously replicating or integrating agent, including but not limited to plasmids, cosmids, and viruses (including phage), comprising a nucleic acid molecule to which one or more additional nucleic acid molecules may be added. Included in the definition of “vector” is the term “expression vector.” Vectors may be used both to amplify and to express DNA (e.g., genomic or cDNA) or RNA.

Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities of ingredients, properties such as molecular weight, reaction conditions, so forth used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the following specification and attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by the present invention. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques.

EMBODIMENTS

Provided herein are methods for synthesizing nucleic acid sequences by introducing an inosine into a specific position of a target DNA using, for example, an oligonucleotide primer, followed by application of a polymerase and an endonuclease V to nick the DNA and a polymerase to repeatedly make the compliment of the target DNA strand. The inosine nucleotide may be positioned at least 4 nucleotides, at least 5 nucleotides, or at least 10 nucleotides from the 5′ end of the primer, substituting for a guanosine and opposite a cytosine. In certain embodiments, the inosine nucleotide may be the penultimate 3′ nucleotide of the primer. In alternative embodiments, inosine may be present at both the penultimate 3′ residue and ultimate 3′ residue.

The invention involves the synthesis of DNA using DNA polymerase. DNA polymerases use nucleoside triphosphates to add nucleotides to the 3′ end of a primer based on a template strand of DNA in a complementary fashion, creating a new DNA strand complementary to the original. The product may be single stranded or double-stranded DNA, often extending to the end of the template strand. Endonuclease V is a nuclease that specifically nicks DNA two nucleotides 3′ of an inosine nucleotide, when the target DNA is double stranded the nick occurs in the same strand as the inosine. The endonuclease, in combination with a strand displacing DNA polymerase and a primer produces targeted DNA amplification. First, the DNA polymerase extends the primer, creating a nicking site for the nuclease. Nicking creates an initiation site for the DNA polymerase, displacing a single-stranded DNA product while it re-creates the double-stranded primer extension product. The cycle repeats, synthesizing multiple single strands of DNA complementary to the downstream portion of the template.

With a single, forward primer, the rate of synthesis of complimentary copies of each molecule is relatively constant, resulting in a steady, linear increase in the number of copies with time. When second primer in the reverse direction is added anneals to the target DNA at a defined distance from the forward primer, amplification process is accelerated. The forward and reverse primers may be placed relatively close to each other (i.e., less than about 1 kb apart), minimizing the time required to copy the forward amplicon to its 5′ end as defined by the endonuclease V cleavage site, thereby increasing the relation and reducing the total time required to generate amplicons from the target DNA. The reaction rate reaches a maximum when the amount of nuclease or polymerase of other component becomes limiting. Additional pairs of nested primer may also be used to further increase amplification rates.

Reaction temperatures may vary during the amplicon production process ranging from 1° C., 5° C., or 10° C. In some particularly preferred embodiments the reaction temperature may be held at 46° C.

In alternative embodiments, using extender templates, which are specific sequences (e.g., a promoter sequence or a restriction endonuclease site specific sequence) may be annealed at the 3′ end of the amplicon by incorporating in an inosine-containing primer. An extender template may be designed so that the 3′ end of the amplicon will anneal to it. If the extender template contains two stretches of sequence, one complementary to the amplicon, and one that is not, and hybridization creates a 5′ overhang of the non-complementary primer sequence, the 3′ recessed end of the amplicon will be further extended by the DNA polymerase. This extension reaction may be employed to incorporate specific DNA sequences at the 3′ end of the innermost amplicon.

The 5′ end of the extender template may contain a hairpin loop, with a fluorescent dye and a quencher located on either arm of the stem, then the dye fluorescence may be largely quenched by energy transfer. Upon extension by the strand displacing DNA polymerase from the recessed 3′ end of the amplicon, the stem-loop structure will become double stranded and the dye and quencher, will become further separated, eliminating some or all of the quenching, and generating a detectable signal. This signal may be multiplexed by the sequence of the extender template and the color of the quenched dye so that 2 or more independent amplification processes may be monitored simultaneously.

In some embodiments the 5′ end of the extender template may include the complement of an RNA polymerase promoter sequence. Thus, a double stranded RNA polymerase promoter may be generated by hybridization of extender template to the amplicon followed by extension by the DNA polymerase of the 3′ end of the amplicon into the promoter region. In embodiments where an RNA polymerase is included in the reaction, the amplicon may be transcribed as a single-stranded RNA polymerase template. In all embodiments, the nucleic acids produced by the present methods may be determined qualitatively or quantitatively.

In embodiments where terminal-phosphate-labeled ribonucleotides are used, the phosphatase may be used for color generation in a qualitative or quantitative assay. In such embodiments, the terminal phosphate may be protected from dephosphorylation by using terminal-phosphate methyl esters of dNTP's or deoxynucleoside tetraphosphates.

Samples suspected or known to contain a particular target nucleic acid sequence may be obtained from a variety of sources. The sample may be, for example, a biological sample, a food, an agricultural sample, or an environmental sample. Samples may also be derived from a variety of biological subjects. The biological subject may be of prokaryotic or eukaryotic origin and includes viruses. Such samples derived from a biological subject may be derived from biological tissue or body fluid or exudate (e.g., blood, plasma, serum or urine, milk, cerebrospinal fluid, pleural fluid, lymph, tears, sputum, saliva, stool, lung aspirates, throat or genital swabs, and the like), whole cells, cell fractions, or cultures.

Target nucleic acid in the sample may be dispersed in solution or may be immobilized on a solid support (such as blots, arrays, microtiter, or well plates). A sample may be pretreated make the target nucleic acid available for hybridization. When the target nucleic acid is present in double stranded form, may optionally be denatured to generate single stranded form.

Endonuclease V (also called endo V or inosine 3′ endonuclease) is an E. coli repair enzyme that recognizes DNA containing inosines and hydrolyzes the second or third phosphodiester bonds 3′ to the inosine, leaving a nick with 3″-hydroxyl and 5′-phosphate. In some embodiments, wild type endonuclease V (e.g., SEQ ID NO.:1) may be employed in the inventive methods. In alternative embodiments, the variants provided herein as SEQ ID NO.:2 or SEQ ID NO.:3 may be used to nick the inosine-containing target DNA.

In embodiments where the target DNA is partially or fully heat denatured, heat stable endonuclease V variants are preferred. In embodiments where the target DNA is not heat denatured, endonuclease V variants that have maximum activity at a relatively low temperature (e.g., 45° C.) may be preferred.

DNA polymerases suitable for use in the inventive methods may demonstrate one or more of the following characteristics: strand displacement activity; the ability to initiate strand displacement from a nick; and low degradation activity for single stranded DNA. Exemplary DNA polymerases useful for the methods include, without limitation, Bst DNA polymerase, exo (−) Klenow, and delta Tts DNA polymerase.

Nucleotides useful in the inventive methods include both deoxyribonucleotides (“dNTPs”) and ribonucleotides (“rNTPs”). The dNTP mixture provides a combination of deoxynucleotides required by a DNA polymerase for DNA synthesis. The dNTP mixture may include each of the naturally occurring deoxynucleotide bases (i.e., adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and Thymine (T)). In some embodiments, each of the naturally occurring deoxynucleotides may be replaced or supplemented with a synthetic analog; provided however that deoxyinosinetriphosphate may not replace or supplement dGTP in the dNTP mixture

In some embodiments, the synthesis reactions take place in a buffer that results in a reaction pH of between 6 and 9. In some preferred embodiments, the pH is 7.7. Most art-recognized buffers for nucleic acid synthesis reactions (e.g., Tris buffers or HEPES buffers) may be employed.

In general, buffers that enhance DNA stability (e.g., HEPES) may be preferred in certain amplicon production methods. However, Tris:Borate, HEPES, and MOPS buffers may be disfavored for some specific amplicon production methods employing thermal denaturation of a target DNA.

Polymerase enzymes typically require divalent cations (e.g., Mg⁺², Mn⁺², or combinations thereof). Accordingly, in certain embodiments, one or more divalent cations may be added to the reaction mixture. MgCl₂ may be added to the reaction mixture at a concentration range of 2 mM to 6 mM. Higher concentrations of MgCl₂ are preferred when high concentrations (e.g., greater than 10 pmoles, greater than 20 pmoles, or greater than 30 pmoles) of inosine-containing primer or primers are added to the reaction mixture.

Surfactants (e.g., detergents) may be added to the reaction mixture. In some embodiments, the surfactant is a detergent selected from Tween-20, NP-40, Triton-X-100, or combinations thereof. In some preferred embodiments, 0.05% NP-40 and 0.005% Triton X-100 are added to the reaction mixture. Surfactants may be applied to the reaction tube before introducing the first component of the reaction mixture. Alternatively, surfactants may be added to the reaction mixture along with the reaction components. In some specific embodiments, the reaction buffer may comprise 25 mM Tris:borate; 5 mM MgCl₂; 0.01% Tween; and 20% ethylene glycol.

One or more blocking agents such as an albumin (e.g., BSA) may be added to the reaction mixture to bind to the surface of the reaction vessel (e.g., plastic microcentrifuge tube or microtiter plate) increasing the relative amount target DNA that is available for reaction with the nucleases or polymerases.

One or more reducing agents (e.g., DTT, βME, TCEP, or MEA) may be added to the reaction mixture to reduce oxidation of the enzymes in the reaction mix and improve the quality and yield of the amplicons produced.

The target dsDNA may be thermally denatured, chemically denatured, or both thermally and chemically denatured. In certain embodiments, the temperature does not substantially change during the various reaction steps (e.g., 1° C., 5° C., or 10° C.).

In some embodiments, the dsDNA is chemically denatured using an denaturant (e.g., glycerol, ethylene glycol, formamide, or a combination thereof) that reduces the melting temperature of dsDNA. In certain embodiments, the denaturant reduces the melting temperature 5° C. to 6° C. for every 10% (vol./vol.) of the denaturant added to the reaction mixture. The denaturant or combination of denaturants may comprise 5%, 10% (vol./vol.), 15% (vol./vol.), 20% (vol./vol.), or 25% (vol./vol.) of reaction mixture.

In certain embodiments, the denaturant comprises ethylene glycol. In alternative embodiments, the denaturant is a combination of glycerol (e.g., 10%) and ethylene glycol (e.g., 6% to 7%).

Salts that reduce hybridization stringency may be the reaction buffers at low concentrations for embodiments wherein target DNA is chemically denatured at low temperatures.

Inosine-containing primers may be synthesized using art-recognized synthesis techniques. Primer design software (e.g., “autodimer”) may be employed to design a single primer or multiple primers capable of annealing to a nucleic acid and facilitating polymerase extension. In embodiments where the reaction proceeds at temperatures in the range of 1° C., 5° C., or 10° C., the melting temperature of the primer is preferably 45° C. in approximately 50 mM salt. In some embodiments, relatively short primers (e.g., 10-mers to 20-mers; more preferably 14-mers to 18-mers, most preferably 16-mers) may be employed.

In some preferred embodiments, the inosine-containing primer is designed such that the inosine residue is positioned in the primer at a location complementary to a C in the target DNA. In some embodiments, the inosine appears as the penultimate 3′ base of the primer. Because the reaction conditions (i.e., temperature and ionic strength) effect annealing of primer to target DNA, optimal positioning of the inosine in the prime may be adjusted according to the reaction conditions. In general, the inosine residue is positioned away from the 5′ end of the prime such that the primer remains annealed to the target DNA after nicking by the endonuclease. Accordingly, the segment of the primer 5′ of the inosine should have a melting temperature approximately equal to the reaction temperature at the chosen reaction conditions. If there are two template G's in a row, two inosines may appear in the primer as the both the penultimate 3′ and the final 3′ residues.

Multiple primers may be included in the reaction mixture in some embodiments. Embodiments where both the plus and minus strands are generated, at paired primers comprising a forward primer and a reverse primer may be included in the reaction mixture. The inclusion of multiple paired primers may improve the relative percentage of a discrete product in the reaction mixture. Nested primers may be designed to bind at or near the 3′ end of the previous amplicon so that in a series, each primer in the series will hybridize next to each other on the original target. Where multiple nested primers are used, SSB (from 1 ng to 1 μg in a 10 μL volume) may be included in the reaction mixture to increase fidelity and reduce background.

The basic method shown in FIG. 1 may be varied by employing additional primers or other oligonucleotides, additional enzymes, additional nucleotides, stains, dyes, or other labeled components. Thus, for example, amplification with a single primer may be used for dideoxy sequencing, producing multiple sequencing products for each molecule of template, and, optionally by the addition of dye-labeled dideoxynucleotide terminators. Labeled probes may be generated from double-stranded cDNA made with a sequence-tagged oligo dT primer from mRNA samples. A single primer may be the complement of the tag sequence, facilitating identification and/or isolation.

Amplification with multiple, paired primers facilitates rapid and extensive amplification, which is useful to detect the presence of specific sequences, to quantify the amounts of those sequences present in a sample, or to produce quantities of a sequence for analysis by methods such as electrophoresis for size measurement, restriction enzyme digestion, sequencing, hybridization, or other molecular biological techniques.

EXAMPLES

Practice of the invention will be still more fully understood from the following examples, which are presented herein for illustration only and should not be construed as limiting the invention in any way.

Commercially available stock buffers used in some of the Examples are shown in Tables 1-3 below. ThermoFidelase was obtained from Fidelity Systems, Gaithersburg, Md.; T7, DEPC water, and NaCl were obtained from Ambion, dNTPs were obtained from GE Healthcare; Tris-HCl and Tween 20 were obtained from Sigma Aldrich. (Volumes shown in the following Tables are in microliters unless otherwise indicated.)

TABLE 1 10× Sequenase Buffer Reagent Vol. [Conc.] 1M Tris-HCl, pH 7.6  800 μL  400 mM 1M MgCl2  400 μL  200 mM 5M NaCl  200 μL  500 mM 100 mM dATP  50 μL  2.5 mM 100 mM dCTP  50 μL  2.5 mM 100 mM dGTP  50 μL  2.5 mM 100 mM dTTP  50 μL  2.5 mM Tween 20   2 μL 0.1% 1M DTT  20 μL   10 mM DEPC Water  378 μL Total Vol. 2000 μL

TABLE 2 10× Klenow Buffer Reagent Vol. [Conc.] 1M Tris-HCl, pH 7.6 1000 μL 0.5M 1M MgCl2  200 μL 0.1M 100 mM dATP  50 μL 2.5 mM 100 mM dCTP  50 μL 2.5 mM 100 mM dGTP  50 μL 2.5 mM 100 mM dTTP  50 μL 2.5 mM Tween 20   2 μL 0.1% 1M DTT  20 μL  10 mM DEPC Water  578 μL Total Volume 2000 μL

TABLE 3 10× Endonuclease V Buffer 100 mM Tris-Borate pH 8 0.1% Tween 20 30 mM MgCl₂ 2.5 mM each dNTP 10 mM DTT

Amplicons may be visualized and/or quantified using art-recognized techniques, for example, electrophoresis to separate species in the sample and observe using an intercalating dye (e.g., ethidium bromide, acridine orange, or proflavine). Amplicon production may also be tracked using optical methods (e.g., ABI Series 7500 Real-Time PCR machine) and an intercalating dye (e.g., SYBR Green I). The amplicons produced in the following examples were visualized using electrophoresis or optical techniques.

Table 4 provides the sequences of the endonuclease V variants, the template DNAs, and the various primers used in the examples that follow. Bacillus cereus strain ATCC 15816 DNA gyrase subunit A gene used as a template is identified as DNAG5 in the following examples.

TABLE 4 Ref No. Sequence (N-term-C-term; 5′→3′) Length WT E. coli SEQ ID NO.: 1 MDLASLRAQQIELASSVIREDRLDKDPPD 223 endonuclease V LIAGADVGFEQGGEVTRAAMVLLKYPSLE LVEYKVARIATTMPYIPGFLSFREYPALLA AWEMLSQKPDLVFVDGHGISHPRRLGVA SHFGLLVDVPTIGVAKKRLCGKFEPLSSE PGALAPLMDKGEQLAWVWRSKARCNPL FIATGHRVSVDSALAWVQRCMKGYRLPE PTRWADAVASERPAFVRYTANQP GE E. coli i SEQ ID NO.: 2 MDLASLRAQQIELASSVIREDRLDKDPPD 225 endonuclease V LIAGADVGFEQGGEVTRAAMVLLKYPSLE Y73A LVEYKVARIATTMPAIPGFLSFREYPALLA AWEMLSQKPDLVFVDGHGISHPRRLGVA SHFGLLVDVPTIGVAKKRLCGKFEPLSSE PGALAPLMDKGEQLAWVWRSKARCNPL FIATGHRVSVDSALAWVQRCMKGYRLPE PTRWADAVASERPAFVRYTANQPLE GE Afu SEQ ID NO.: 3 MLQMNLEELRRIQEEMSRSVVLEDLIPLE 221 endonuclease V ELEYVVGVDQAFISDEVVSCAVKLTFPEL EVVDKAVRVEKVTFPAIPTFLMFREGEPA VNAVKGLVDDRAAIMVDGSGIAHPRRCGL ATYIALKLRKPTVGITKKRLFGEMVEVEDG LWRLLDGSETIGYALKSCRRCKPIFISPGS YISPDSALELTRKCLKGYKLPEPIRIADKLT KEVKRELTPTSKLK Ban 1 Template SEQ ID NO.: 4 CAATTGTAATTTCTGTACGTCTCTTATCA 77 TTGAAGCGCTCTTTTACTTCTGTTAATTC TTCACGAATAATCTCAAGA P-1 SEQ ID NO.: 5 TCTTGAGATTATTCIT 15 P2-1 SEQ ID NO.: 6 CAATTGTAATTTCTIT 15 P3 SEQ ID NO.: 7 AAATTAATACGACTCACTATAGGGTGAA 51 GAATTAACAGAAGTAAAAGAGCddC P-3 Mismatched SEQ ID NO.: 8 AAATTAATACGACTCACTATAGGGTTGA 51 AGAATTAACAGAAGTAAAAGAGA P-3 NO ddC SEQ ID NO.: 9 AAATTAATACGACTCACTATAGGGTGAA 41 GAATTAACAGAAG P-3SD Mod SEQ ID NO.: 10 AAATTAATACGACTCACTATAGGGTTGA 51 AGAATTAACAGAAGTAAAAGAGddC Primer 1354 SEQ ID NO.: 11 TCGCTGAATTAAAAIC 16 Primer 1333 SEQ ID NO.: 12 ATCAAGATTTAATGAAIT 18 Primer 1498 SEQ ID NO.: 13 TGTTCTGGAATCAAIT 16 Primer 1517 SEQ ID NO.: 14 AACGTAATGGCGATIT 16 Primer 1275 SEQ ID NO.: 15 TTAGATATGCGTCTIC 16 Primer 1294 SEQ ID NO.: 16 GCTTAACAGGATTAIA 16 Primer 1313 SEQ ID NO.: 17 CGAAAAAATTGAACAAIA 18 Primer 1378 SEQ ID NO.: 18 CAGATGAAGAAAAGIT 16 Primer 1482 SEQ ID NO.: 19 CTTCATCTTCAATAIA 16 Primer 1534 SEQ ID NO.: 20 AATATAACCATTATGAIT 18 Primer 1560 SEQ ID NO.: 21 TACGTAGAAGCTGIC 15 Primer 1579 SEQ ID NO.: 22 ACCACGGTTCTGTIT 15 cP-3 3′ Quencher SEQ ID NO.: 23 CCCTATAGTGAGTCGTATTAATTT- 24 IowaBlack Fluorescent Primer SEQ ID NO.: 24 FAM- 27 1 GGTCGACTIAGGAGGATCCCCGGGTAC Fluorescent Primer SEQ ID NO.: 25 HEX- 27 2 CCGGGGATCCTCCTCAGTCGACCTGCA endoV us SEQ ID NO.: 26 GAGATATACATATGGATCTCGCG 23 endoV int ds SEQ ID NO.: 27 GAATCGCCGGCATGGTGGTGGCGATGC 28 G endoV int us SEQ ID NO.: 28 ACCATGCCGGCGATTCCAGGTTTTCTTT 33 CCTTC endoV ds SEQ ID NO.: 29 TGGTGCTCGAGGGGCTGATTTGATG 25 DNA-G-Long-3′ SEQ ID NO.: 30 GATATTCATCAATCGGAGTACGTTTTC 27 DNA-G-5′ SEQ ID NO.: 31 ACAATCAACAACAAGCACGAATTCGAG 27 7290R SEQ ID NO.: 32 AGTTCTTCTTTCGTCCCCIT 20 7270R SEQ ID NO.: 33 CAGGCTGACATCACIIT 17 7253R SEQ ID NO.: 34 TCAGTTGTTCACCCAGCIA 19 7234R SEQ ID NO.: 35 GCGGAGACGGGCAATCAIT 19 7215R SEQ ID NO.: 36 TCATCTTTCGTCATIIA 17 7194R SEQ ID NO.: 37 TCCACAGAGAAACAATIIC 19 7062F SEQ ID NO.: 38 ACCACCGGCGATCCIIC 17 7079F SEQ ID NO.: 39 GCGTGAGTTCACCATIA 17 7096F SEQ ID NO.: 40 TTCAGTCAGCACCGCTIA 18 7111 F SEQ ID NO.: 41 TGATGCTGCTGGCTIA 16 7127F SEQ ID NO.: 42 CCCTGATGAGTTCGTIT 17 7144F SEQ ID NO.: 43 CCGTACAACTGGCIT 15 T7-7158F-misA: SEQ ID NO.: 44 ATGACTGGTGGACAGCAAATGGGTAAA 50 TTAATACGACTCACTATAGGGTT Quencher-oligo SEQ ID NO.: 45 CCCTATAGTGAGTCGTATTAATTT- 24 3iaBrqsP Dye-oligo SEQ ID NO.: 46 ACCCAT/i6- TAMN/TTGCTGTCCACCAGTTAC F. primer 40FGI SEQ ID NO.: 47 GTTTTCCCAGTCACGACGTTGTAAAACG 34 ACGICC R. primer 40RGI SEQ ID NO.: 48 TCAAAGAAGTATTGCTACAACGG 23 F. primer: 40FGG SEQ ID NO.: 49 GTTTTCCCAGTCACGACGTTGTAAAACG 34 ACGGCC R. primer 40RGG SEQ ID NO.: 50 TCAAAGAAGTATTGCTACAACGG 23 Tban-1 forward SEQ ID NO.: 51 GCAGATGAAGAAAAGGTTCTTGAGATTA 33 primer: TTCIT Dye-P-3 SEQ ID NO.: 52 5′-TAMRA Dye- 51 AAATTAATACGACTCACTATAGGGTTGA AGAATTAACAGAAGTAAAAGAGddC-3′

Example 1 Preparation of the B. cereus target DNA (“DNAG5”)

Bacillus cereus strain 15816 from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Manassas, Va.) was grown according to the supplier's recommendations. A lyophilized culture of B. cereus was resuspended in 400 μL of Nutrient Broth then transferred to 5.6 ml of Nutrient Broth and incubated overnight at 30° C. with shaking. The Genomic DNA (gDNA) was isolated from the overnight liquid culture using MasterPure™ Gram Positive DNA Purification Kit (Epicentre® Biotechnologies, #GP1-60303) according to the manufacturer's instructions.

-   -   1. 4×1.0 ml of o/n culture was pelleted by centrifugation in         separate 1.5 ml tubes.     -   2. Each pellet was resuspended in 100 μL TE Buffer by vortexing         vigorously and added to separate 0.65 ml tubes.     -   3. The 1.5 ml tubes were rinsed with 50 μL each TE Buffer and         the wash was combined with the appropriate 100 μL of resuspended         pellet.     -   4. 1 μL of Ready-Lyse Lysozyme was added to each resuspended         pellet, mixed, and incubated at 37° C. for 60 minutes.     -   5. 150 μL Gram Positive Lysis Solution & 1 μL Proteinase K Added         to each tube and mixed.     -   6. Samples were incubated at 70° C. for 15 minutes vortexing         every 5 minutes.     -   7. The samples were then cooled to 37° C. for 5 minutes and then         placed on ice for 5 minutes.     -   8. 175 μL MPC Protein Precipitation Reagent was added to each         tube.     -   9. The debris was pelleted at high speed in a microfuge for 10         minutes.     -   10. Supernatant was transferred to a clean 1.5 ml tube and the         pellet was discarded.     -   11. 1 μL RNase A (5 μg/μl) was added to each tube and incubated         30 minutes at 37° C.     -   12. 500 μL 2-propanol was added to each tube and inverted 35         times to mix.     -   13. The tubes were centrifuged 10 minutes at high speed in a         microfuge to pellet the DNA.     -   14. Each pellet was rinsed with 70% ethanol, dried, and         resuspended in 35 μL TE buffer.     -   15. 1 μL from each prep was run on a 1% agarose gel.

Approximately 100 ng of B. cereus gDNA was amplified in four separate reactions using PuReTaq Ready-To-Go PCR Beads (GE Healthcare) and 5 μM of each primer, DNA-G-Long-3′ (SEQ ID NO.:30) and DNA-G-5′ (SEQ ID NO.:31). Thermal cycling conditions were:

-   -   1. 95° C. for 5 minutes     -   2. 95° C. for 30 seconds     -   3. 50° C. for 30 seconds     -   4. 72° C. for 1 minute     -   5. Steps 2-4 were repeated 31 times,     -   6. Held at +4° C.

One-tenth of each completed reaction was analyzed by electrophoresis using a 1% agarose gel. A 2181 base pair product was generated and used as the target DNA. Following analysis, the four amplification reactions were pooled and diluted in TE Buffer±0.01% Tween 20 prior to use.

Example 2

Single primer, 2 primers, various polymerases T7 DNA polymerase (Sequenase) and Klenow fragment were compared according to the reaction scheme presented below in Table 5, in which volumes indicated are microliters. P1 corresponds to SEQ ID NO.: 5 and P2-1 corresponds to SEQ ID NO.:6. Reactions 1, 2, 7, and 8 were incubated at 43° C. for 3 hours. The remaining reactions were incubated at 37° C. for 3 hours. Following storage at −20° C., the reactions were run on a 15% acrylamide (Invitrogen), 7M-urea gel. The results are shown in FIG. 4.

TABLE 5 ID Reagent 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 10X Endonuclease 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 V Buffer 10X TP Buffer 1 1 0.5 0.5 10X T7 Buffer 1 1 0.5 0.5 10X Klenow Buffer 1 1 0.5 Ban 1 Template 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 P1 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 2 2 P2 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 T4 g32p 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 05 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 Ethylene Glycol 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Bst 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 T7 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 5 5 Klenow 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 10 10 Endonuclease V 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 Water 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4 4 4 4 4 4 Total Volume 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

Example 3 Multiple Sets of Primers and Single Strand Binding Protein

4, 6, and 12 mixes of primers were combined as shown below in Tables 6-13. The primer mixes were prepared so that one addition would add 10 pmol [final concentration] of each oligo to the reaction mixture.

TABLE 6 12 Mix Oligo  P-1 P2-1 1275 1294 1313 1333 1378 1482 1517 1534 1560 1579

TABLE 7 6 Mix Oligo  P-1 P2-1 1333 1378 1482 1517

TABLE 8 4 Mix (4185-14 ‘E’) Oligo  P-1 P2-1 1378 1482

TABLE 9 Internal 4 Mix Oligo 1354 (645 pmol/uL) 1333 (681 pmol/uL) 1498 (732 pmol/uL) 1517 (671 pmol/uL)

Reaction Scheme: DNAG5 was diluted 1:100 in TE buffer. 10×HEMT buffer includes 100 mM HEPES (pH 8), 1 mM EDTA, 0.1% Tween 20, and 30 mM MgCl₂.

TABLE 10 ID Component 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 DNAG5 1:100 − − − − − − − + + + + + 12 mix + − − − − − − + − − − − 6 mix − + − − − − − − + − − − 4 mix − − + − − + + − − + − − Internal 4 Mix − − − + + + + − − − + + SSB, 1 μg/uL + − − + − + − + − − + − SSB, 10 ng/uL − + + − + − + − + + − + 1354 (10 pmol/uL) − − − − − − − − − − − − 1333 (10 pmol/uL) − − − − − − − − − − − − 1498 (10 pmol/uL) − − − − − − − − − − − − 1517 (10 pmol/uL) − − − − − − − − − − − − ID Component 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 DNAG5 1:100 + + + + + + − − − − − − B. cereus gDNA − − − − − − + + + + + + (100 ng/uL) 12 mix − − − − − − + − − − − − 6 mix + + − − − − − + − − − − 4 mix − − + + + + − − + − + + Internal 4 Mix − − − − + + − − − + + + SSB, 1 μg/uL + + − − + + − − − − − + SSB, 10 ng/uL − + + + − − + + + + + − 1354 (10 pmol/uL) + − + − − − − − − − − − 1333 (10 pmol/uL) + − − + − − − − − − − − 1498 (10 pmol/uL) − + + − − − − − − − − − 1517 (10 pmol/uL) − + − − − − − − − −

Bulk Denaturation Mixes (Volumes Shown in Tables are in Microliters Unless Otherwise Indicated.)

TABLE 11 Component/ID A (X5) B (X5) C (X15) D (X13) 10× HEMT Buffer 5 5 15 13 12 mix 2.5 — — —  6 mix — 2.5 — —  4 mix — — 7.5 — Internal 4 Mix — — — 6.5 Water 10 10 7.5 7.5 Total Volume 17.5 17.5 30 26

3.5 μL of ‘A’ were added to each of 1, 8, and 19; 3.5 μL of ‘B’ were added to each of 2, 9, and 20; 2.0 μL of ‘C’ were added to each of 3, 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 23, and 24; and 2.0 μL of ‘D’ were added to each of 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 17, 18, 22, 23, and 24.

Denaturations

TABLE 12 ID Component 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 DNAG5 1:100 — — — — — — — 1   1   1 1 1 Bulk Denaturation Mix A 3.5 — — — — — — 3.5 — — — — Bulk Denaturation Mix B — 3.5 — — — — — — 3.5 — — — Bulk Denaturation Mix C — — 2 — — 2 2 — — 2 — — Bulk Denaturation Mix D — — — 2 2 2 2 — — — 2 2 1354 (10 pmol/uL) — — — — — — — — — — — — 1333 (10 pmol/uL) — — — — — — — — — — — — 1498 (10 pmol/uL) — — — — — — — — — — — — 1517 (10 pmol/uL) — — — — — — — — — — — — Water 1.5 1.5 3 3 3 1 1 0.5 0.5 2 2 2 Total Vol. 5   5   5 5 5 5 5 5   5   5 5 5 ID Component 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 DNAG5 1:100 1 1 1 1 1 1 — — — — — — B. cereus gDNA — — — — — — 1   1   1 1 1 1 (100 ng/uL) Bulk Denaturation Mix A — — — — — — 3.5 — — — — — Bulk Denaturation Mix B 2 2 — — — — — 3.5 — — — — Bulk Denaturation Mix C — — 2 2 2 2 — — 2 — 2 2 Bulk Denaturation Mix D — 1 — — 2 2 — — — 2 2 2 1354 (10 pmol/uL) 1 — 1 — — — — — — — — — 1333 (10 pmol/uL) 1 — — 1 — — — — — — — — 1498 (10 pmol/uL) — 1 1 — — — — — — — — — 1517 (10 pmol/uL) — — — 1 — — — — — — — — Water 5 5 — — — — 0.5 0.5 2 2 — — Total Vol. 5 5 5 5 5 5 5   5   5 5 5 5 Bulk Enzyme Mixes: 10 R×n Buffer Used in Table 13: 100 Mm HEPES, 30 mM MgCl₂, 0.1% Tween 20, 2.5 mM each dNTP, and 10 mM TCEP.

TABLE 13 Component/ID 1X X(X10) Z(X18) 10× Reaction Buffer) 1 10 18 100% Ethylene Glycol 1 10 18 E coli SSB, 1 μg/uL 1 10 — E coli SSB, 10 ng/uL — — 18 ΔTts (20 U/) 1 10 18 Endonuclease V (40 pmol/) 0.075 0.75 1.35 Water 0.925 9.25 16.65 Total Volume 5 50 90

5 μL of “X” were added to each of reaction mixes 1, 4, 6, 8, 11, 17, 18, and 24; 5 μL of “Z” were added to each of 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23. All reaction mixtures were incubated at 45° C. for 75 minutes and an 1/10^(th) aliquot was analyzed on a 10% TB Urea gel, in which each of the oligo mixtures generated product of the expected sizes.

Example 4 Isothermal Amplification Using Internal 6 Oligo Mix

Selected oligos were removed from the 6-oligo mix to determine which oligo or oligos caused the doublet band between 70 and 80 bases. Also, variations divalent cation and single strand binding protein concentrations were tested.

Oligo Mixes

TABLE 14 Oligo A OM B OM  P-1 (972 pmol/uL)  1.03 μL — P2-1 (335 pmol/uL)  2.99 μL  2.99 μL 1333 (681 pmol/uL)  1.47 μL  1.47 μL 1378 (645 pmol/uL)  1.55 μL  1.55 μL 1482 (661 pmol/uL) —  1.51 μL 1517 (671 pmol/uL)  1.49 μL  1.49 μL TE + 0.01% Tween 20 41.47 μL 40.99 μL Total Volume   50 μL   50 μL

Reaction Scheme 10 R×n Buffer A used in Table 15: 100 mM HEPES, 30 mM MgCl₂, 0.1% Tween 20, 2.5 mM each dNTP, and 10 mM TCEP. 10 R×n Buffer B used in Table 15: 100 mM HEPES, 60 mM MgCl₂, 0.1% Tween 20, 2.5 mM each dNTP, and 10 mM TCEP.

TABLE 15 ID Component 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 DNAG5 1:10 − − − − + + + + − − − − + + DNAG5 1:100 − − − − − − − − + + + + − − 12 Mix + − − − + − − − + + − − + + 6 Mix − + − − − + − − − − + + − − A OM − − + − − − + − − − − − − − B OM − − − + − − − + − − − − − − Rxn Buffer A − − − − − − − − − − + + − − (3 mM) Rxn Buffer B + + + + + + + + + + − − + + (6 mM) 30 mM Mg − − − − − − − − − − − − + − 60 mM Mg − − − − − − − − − − − − − + 90 mM Mg − − − − − − − − − − − − − − SSB, 1 ng/rxn − − − − − − − − + − + − − − SSB, 1 μg/rxn + + + + + + + + − + − + + + ID Component 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23* 24* 25* 26* 27* 28* DNAG5 1:10 + + + + − − − − − − − − − − DNAG5 1:100 − − − − − − − − − − − − − − B. cereus gDNA + − − − + + + + − − − − − − 100 ng/rxn 12 Mix − − − − + − − − + + + − − − 6 Mix − + + + − + − − − − − + + + A OM − − − − − − + − − − − − − − B OM − − − − − − − + − − − − − − Rxn Buffer A + − − − − − − − − − − − − − (3 mM) Rxn Buffer B − + + + + + + + + + + + + + (6 mM) 30 mM Mg − + − − − − − − + − − + − − 60 mM Mg + − + − − − − − − + − − + − 90 mM Mg − − − + − − − − − − + − − + SSB, 1 ng/rxn + − − − − − − − − − − − − − SSB, 1 μg/uL + + + + + + + + + + + + + *Extra MgCl₂ added to denaturation

No Template Control Denaturations 10×HE Buffer: 100 mM HEPES (pH *), 1 mM EDTA.

TABLE 16 Component/ID 1 2 3 4 23 10× HE Buffer   1 μL   1 μL   1 μL   1 μL   1 μL DNAG51:10 — — — — — DNAG51:100 — — — — — 12 Mix 0.5 μL — — — 0.5 μL  6 Mix — 0.5 μL — — — A OM — — 0.5 μL — — B OM — — — 0.5 μL — 30 mM MgCl₂ — — — —   1 μL 60 mM MgCl₂ — — — — — 90 mM MgCl₂ — — — — — Water 2.5 μL 2.5 μL 2.5 μL 2.5 μL 1.5 μL Total Volume   4 μL   4 μL   4 μL   4 μL   4 μL Component/ID 24 25 26 27 28 10× HE Buffer   1 μL   1 μL   1 μL   1 μL   1 μL DNAG5 1:10 — — — — — DNAG5 1:100 — — — — — 12 Mix 0.5 μL 0.5 μL — — —  6 Mix — — 0.5 μL 0.5 μL 0.5 μL A OM — — — — — B OM — — — — — 30 mM MgCl₂ — —   1 μL — — 60 mM MgCl₂   1 μL — —   1 μL —

Bulk Denaturation Mixes

TABLE 17 Component/ID A (X6) B (X6) C (X3) D (X3) 10× HE Buffer  6 μL  6 μL   3 μL   3 μL DNAG5 1:10  6 μL  6 μL — — DNAG5 1:100 — —   3 μL   3 μL 12 Mix  3 μL — 1.5 μL —  3 Mix —  3 μL — 1.5 μL OM A — — — — OM B — — — — Water  9 μL  9 μL 4.5 μL 4.5 μL Total Volume 24 μL 24 μL  12 μL  12 μL 4 μL “A” in each of 5, 13, 14, and 15 4 μL “B” in each of 6, 16, 17, and 18 4 μL “C” in each of 9 and 10 4 μL “D” in each of 11 and 12

Denaturations

TABLE 18 ID Component 7 8 19 20 21 22 10X HE Buffer 1 μL 1 μL 1 μL 1 μL 1 μL 1 μL DNAG5 1:10 1 μL 1 μL — — — — DNAG5 1:100 — — — — — — B. cereus gDNA — — 1 μL 1 μL 1 μL 1 μL 100 ng/uL 12 Mix — — 0.5 μL   — — — 3 Mix — — — 0.5 μL   — — OM A 0.5 μL   — — — 0.5 μL   — OM B — 0.5 μL   — — — 0.5 μL   30 mM MgCl₂ — — — — — — 60 mM MgCl₂ — — — — — — 90 mM MgCl₂ — — — — — — Water 1.5 μL   1.5 μL   1.5 μL   1.5 μL   1.5 μL   1.5 μL   Total Volume 4 μL 4 μL 4 μL 4 μL 4 μL 4 μL

Bulk Enzyme Mixes

TABLE 19 ID Component V (X2) W (X2) X (X2) Y (X8) Z (X21) 10X Rxn Buffer A   2 μL   2 μL — — — (3 mM) 10X Rxn Buffer B — —   2 μL   8 μL   21 μL (6 mM) 100% Ethylene   2 μL   2 μL   2 μL   8 μL   21 μL Glycol E. coli SSB   2 μL —   2 μL — — (1 ng/uL) E. coli SSB —   2 μL —   8 μL   21 μL (1 μg/uL) ΔTts   2 μL   2 μL   2 μL   8 μL   21 μL (20 U/uL) Endo V 0.15 μL 0.15 μL 0.15 μL 0.6 μL  1.58 μL (40 pmol/uL) Water 3.85 μL 3.85 μL 3.85 μL 7.4 μL 85.58 μL Total Volume   12 μL   12 μL   12 μL  40 μL   126 μL 6 μL “V” in 11 6 μL “W” in 12 6 μL “X” in 9 5 μL “Y” in 13-18 (Add amt MgCl₂ in 1 μL volume) 6 μL “Z” in each of 1-8, 10, and 19-28

All reactions were incubated at 45° C. for 75 minutes and applied to a gel as shown in FIG. 5.

Example 5 In Vitro Transcription (IVT)

Bulk Standard Isothermal Amplification Reaction. Template Primer Mix 0.08 pmol; SEQ ID NO.: 4; 2 pmol SEQ ID NO.: 5; 10 pmol SEQ ID NO.: 6; and 18 pmol SEQ ID NO.: 7.

TABLE 20 Component 1X 3X 10X Endonuclease V Buffer 1 3 Template Primer Mix 0.5 1.5 Klenow (10 U/μL ) 0.5 1.5 Endonuclease V (8 pmol/μL ) 0.5 1.5 ThermoFidelase 1 3 TAP/T4 g32p (0.005 U TAP; 0.5 1.5 0.2 μg T4g32P) Water 6 18 Total Vol. 10 30

3 μL of the 3× bulk reaction were added to 6 μL GLB (gel loading buffer) II (Before isothermal amplification). The remaining 3× bulk reaction was incubated at 45° C. for 75 minutes. The reaction was stopped by adding 2.7 μL, 110 mM EDTA. A 1-μL aliquot from the reaction was added to 2 GLB II (After isothermal amplification). Beta-Mercaptoethanol (n-ME) was obtained from Sigma (cat. #104K0161). 1M Tris-HCl, pH 8 was obtained from Ambion (cat. #105R055626A). The rNTP mixtures are shown in Table 21 below and the general reaction mixture for in vitro transcription is shown below in Table 22. For this example, components of MEGAscript T7 Kit (Ambion) were used.

TABLE 21 Component Amt 75 mM ATP 15 μL 75 mM CTP 15 μL 75 mM GTP 15 μL 75 mM UTP 15 μL Total Volume 60 μL

TABLE 22 Component Amt Water 3 μL rNTP Mix 4 μL 10X Buffer 1 μL Template 1 μL T7 Enzyme Mix 1 μL Total Volume 10 μL 

(1.) 10×IVT Buffer-Tris/MgCl₂/DTT

TABLE 23 Component 1X Water 300 μL 1M Tris-HCl, pH 8 400 μL 1M DTT 100 μL 1M MgCl₂ 200 μL Total Volume 1 ml

TABLE 24 185 mM MgCl₂ 10 1M MgCl₂ 44 Water Total Volume 54

TABLE 25 150 mM NaCl 3 5M NaCl 97 μL Water Total Volume 100 μL

(2) 10×IVT Buffer-Tris/MgCl₂/β-mercaptoethanol

TABLE 26 Component 1X Water 299 μL 1M Tris-HCI, Ph 8 400 μL 99% β-ME 101 μL 1M MgCl₂ 200 μL Total Volume 1 m

(3) 10×IVT Buffer-HEPES/MgCl₂/DTT

TABLE 27 Component 1X Water 300 μL 1M HEPES, pH 8 400 μL 1M DTT 100 μL 1M MgCl₂ 200 μL Total Volume 1 ml

(4) 10×IVT Buffer-HEPES/MgCl₂/β-ME

TABLE 28 Component 1X Water 299 μL 1M HEPES, pH 8 400 μL 99% β-ME 101 μL 1M MgCl₂ 200 μL Total Volume 1 ml

Reaction Scheme: All reactions used 1 μL of the Bulk Standard IA Reaction. MgCl₂ addition of 18.5 mM (20 mM [final]). NaCl addition of 15 mM ([final]). The reaction mixtures used are shown in Table 29.

TABLE 29 ID Component 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Water 3 1 3 2 3 2 3 rNTP Mix 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 10X IVT Buffer (Ambion) 1 1 — — — — — 10X Rxn Buffer A — — 1 1 — — — 10X Rxn Buffer B — — — — 1 1 — 185 mM MgCl₂ — — — 1 — 1 — Glycerol — 2 — — — — — #1 10X IVT Buffer— — — — — — — 1 Tris/MgCl₂/DTT #2 10X IVT Buffer— — — — — — — — Tris/MgCl₂/β-ME Template 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 T7 Enzyme Mix (Ambion) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Total Volume 10  10  10  10  10  10  10  ID Component 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Water 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 rNTP Mix 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 150 mM NaCl — — — 1 1 1 1 #1 10X IVT Buffer— — — — 1 — — — Tris/MgCl₂/DTT #2 10X IVT Buffer— — — — — 1 — — Tris/MgCl₂/β-ME #3 10X IVT Buffer— — 1 — — — 1 — HEPES/MgCl₂/DTT #4 10X IVT Buffer— — — 1 — — — 1 HEPES/MgCl₂/β-ME Template — 1 1 1 1 1 1 T7 Enzyme Mix 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Total Volume 1 10  10  10  10  10  10 

Each reaction, 1-14, was incubated at 37° C. for 2 hours and stopped by the addition of 20 μL GLB II. 3 μL/reaction were loaded into a well of a 15% acrylamide 7M-urea TBE gel (Invitrogen), shown in FIG. 6B.

Example 6 Mixed Oligos; Mg Concentration; and SSB Concentration

The following experiment demonstrates that the addition of more than 1 ng of single strand binding protein to a 10-μL volume, increases fidelity and reduces background amplification significantly.

TABLE 30 ID Component 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 DNAG5 1:10 − − − − − − − − + + + + + + DNAG5 1:100 − − − − − − − − − − − − − − 3 mM MgCl2 + + − − + + − − + + − − + + 6 mM MgCl2 − − + + − − + + − − + + − − 12 Mix + + + + − − − − + + + + − − 3 Mix − − − − + + + + − − − − + + SSB 1 ng/reaction + − + − + − + − + − + − + − SSB 1 μg/reaction − + − + − + − + − + − + − + ID Component 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DNAG5 1:10 + + − − − − − − − − + + + + DNAG5 1:100 − − + + + + + + + + + + − − 3 mM MgCl2 − − + + − − + + − − − − + + 6 mM MgCl2 + + − − + + − − + + + + − − 12 Mix − − + + + + − − − − − − + + 6 Mix + + − − − − + + + + + − + − SSB 1 ng/reaction + − + − + − + − + − − + − + SSB 1 μg/reaction − + − + − + − + − +

Bulk Denaturation Mixes

TABLE 31 ID Component A (X6) B (X6) C (X6) D (X6) E (X8) F (X8) 10X HE Buffer 6 6 6 6 8 8 DNAG5 1:10 — — 6 6 — — DNAG5 1:100 — — — — 8 8 12 Mix 3 — 3 — 4 — 3 Mix — 3 — 3 — 4 Water 15  15  9 9 12  12  Total Volume 24  24  24  24  32  32 

4 μL “A” were added to each of reactions 1-4; 4 μL of “B” were added to each of reactions 5-8; 4 μL of “C” were added to each of reactions 9-12; 4 μL of “D” were added to each of reactions 13-16; 4 μL “E” were added to each of reactions 17-20, 25, 26; 4 μL “F” were added to each of reactions 21-24, 27, and 28.

Bulk Enzyme Mixes

TABLE 32 ID Component W (X9) X (X9) Y (X9) Z (X9) 10X Reaction Buffer, 3 mM Mg⁺² 9 9 — — 10X Reaction Buffer, 6 mM Mg⁺² — — 9 9 100% Ethylene Glycol 9 9 9 9 E coli SSB, 1 ng/uL 9 — 9 — E coli SSB, 1 μg/μL — 9 — 9 ΔTts (20 U/μL) 9 9 9 9 Endonuclease V (40 pmol/μL ) 0.63 0.63 0.63 0.63 Water 17.37 17.37 17.37 17.37 Total Vol. 54 54 54 54

6 μL of “W” were added to each of reactions 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, and 25; 6 μL of “X” were added to each of reactions 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, and 26; 6 μL of “Y” were added to each of reactions 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, 23, 27; and 6 μL of “Z” were added to each of reactions 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, and 28.

Reactions 1-24 were incubated at 45° C. for 75 minutes and reactions 25-28 were incubated 45° C. for 40 minutes. A 1/10^(th) aliquot of each reaction was analyzed on a 10% TB Urea gel (Invitrogen), which is shown in FIG. 7.

Example 7 Extender Templates; dd Terminators and Mismatched Primers

TABLE 33 12 Mix Dye-P-3, 4133-92 cP-3 3′ Quencher SEQ ID NO.: 23 P-3 Mismatched SEQ ID NO.: 8 P-3SD Mod (ddC) SEQ ID NO.: 10 P-3 NO ddC SEQ ID NO.: 9 All oligos were diluted in TE + 0.01% Tween 20 to 10 pmol/uL

Reaction Scheme

TABLE 34 ID Component 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 DNAG5 1:10 − + + − − − − + + + + + + + DNAG5 1:100 − − − + + − − − − − − − − − DNAG5 1:1000 − − − − − + + − − − − − − − 12 Mix + + + + + + + + + + + + − − 12 Mix less − − − − − − − − − − − − + + SEQ ID NO.: 17 P-3 SD Mod − − − − − − − + − − − − − − P-3 NO ddC − − − − − − − − + − − − − − P-3 Mismatched − − − − − − − − − + − − − − cP-3 3′ Quencher − − − − − − − − − − + − − − Dye-P-3 − − − − − − − − − − − + − − ROX-11-ddG (3 pmol/) − − + − + − + − − − − − − +

Denaturations

TABLE 35 ID Component 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 10X HE Buffer 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 DNAG1:10 — 1 1 — — — — 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 DNAG1:100 — — — 1 1 — — — — — — — — — DNAG1:1000 — — — — — 1 1 — — — — — — — 12 Mix   0.5   0.5   0.5   0.5   0.5   0.5   0.5   0.5   0.5   0.5   0.5   0.5 — — 12 Mix Less — — — — — — — — — — — —   0.5   0.5 SEQ ID NO.: 17 P-3SD Mod — — — — — — — 1 — — — — — — P-3N OddC — — — — — — — — 1 — — — — — P-3 — — — — — — — — — 1 — — — — Mismatched cP-33′ — — — — — — — — — — 1 — — — Quencher Dye-P-3 — — — — — — — — — — — 1 — — Water   2.5   1.5   1.5   1.5   1.5   1.5   1.5   0.5   0.5   0.5   0.5   0.5   1.5   1.5 Total Volume 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

Bulk Enzyme Mix

TABLE 36 Component 1X A (X12) B (X6) 10X Reaction Buffer 1 12 6 100% Ethylene Glycol 1 12 6 SYBR Green I (1:2000) 1 12 6 ROX-11-ddGTP 1 — 6 ΔTts (20 U/uL) 1 12 6 Endonuclease V 0.075 0.9 0.45 SSB (1 ng/uL) 1 12 6 Water — 12 — Total Vol. (uL) 6.075 72.9 36.45

6 μl of “A” were added to reaction mixtures 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8-13; and 6 μl “B” were added to reaction mixtures 3, 5, 7, and 14. The resultant gel is depicted in FIG. 8.

Example 8 Genomic DNA Reaction Scheme

TABLE 37 ID Component 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DNAG5 1:10 − + + + + + − − − − − B. cereus gDNA − − − − − − + + + + + (100 ng/uL) SYBR Green I (1:2000) + + + + + + + + + + + SSB (100 ng/uL) − − + − − − − + − − − SSB (10 ng/uL) − − − + − − − − + − − SSB (1 ng/uL) − − − − + − − − − + − SSB (0.1 ng/uL) − − − − − + − − − − +

Denaturations

TABLE 38 ID Component 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 10X HE Buffer 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 DNAG5 1:10 — 3 3 3 3 3 — — — — — B. cereus gDNA — — — — — — 3 3 3 3 3 (100 ng/uL) 4133-76OM 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 Water 10.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 Total Volume (μL) 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15

The reaction mixtures were heated 95° C. for 2 minutes and cooled to room temperature in the thermal cycler. And, 3 μL of the indicated SSB solution was added to the appropriate tubes.

Bulk Enzyme Mix

TABLE 39 Component 1X 13X (X3) 10X Rxn Buffer   1 μL    39 μL 1:2000 SYBR Gold   1 μL    39 μL 100% Ethylene Glycol   1 μL    39 μL ΔTts   1 μL    39 μL Endo V 0.05 μL  1.95 μL Total Volume 4.05 μL 157.95 μL

12 μL/reaction were cycled in an Applied Biosystems 7500 PCR System as follows: (1) Stage 1, 10 seconds at 44° C.; and (2) Stage 2, 50 seconds at 45° C. Stages 1 and 2 were repeated seventy five times and data was collected during stage 2. When completed, the reactions were stored at −20° C. overnight and then analyzed on a 10% TBE Urea gel, shown in FIG. 9.

Example 9 Effect of SSB on Amplification in the Presence of Contaminating DNA

The reaction mix contained 10 mM HEPES 7.9, 3 mM MgCl2, 0.25 mM dNTP, 1 mM DTT, 0.01% Tween, 10% ethylene glycol, 10% glycerol, 10 ng/μL E. coli SSB, 0.4 μM E. coli Endo V, with 19 U DTts. Reaction mixtures containing 0.5 ng of λ DNA, 5 ng λ DNA, 50 ng λ DNA, and the 6 primers shown in Table 40 (each primer at 1 μM concentration), were incubated with and without 100 ng of E coli genomic DNA, and a titration of E coli SSB was added as indicated in the chart at FIG. 10.

TABLE 40 Oligo 6 primers used in the reactions: Length 7290R AGTTCTTCTTTCGTCCCCIT 20 7270R CAGGCTGACATCACIIT 17 7253R TCAGTTGTTCACCCAGCIA 19 7062F ACCACCGGCGATCCIIC 17 7079F GCGTGAGTTCACCATIA 17 7114F TGCTGCTGGCTGACCCTIA 19

Template and primers were pre-annealed by denaturation at 95° C. for 2 min then placed at room temperature, and then mixed with the rest of reaction components. Reactions were incubated for 80 min at 45° C. and products were separated on TBE-Urea gel. Gels were stained using SYBR gold and scanned on Typhoon scanner. As shown in FIG. 10, the SSB enhanced amplification of product in the presence of contaminating genomic DNA.

Example 10 Generation and Expression of Y73A Endo V

The original plasmid encodes wild type E. coli endo V in pET22b+ as a terminal HIS tagged fusion construct, flanked by an NdeI site at the initiation and a XhoI site at the termination sequence. PCR was performed using primer “endo V us” with “endo V int ds” to make a 215 base pair gene fragment. This fragment was restricted using NdeI and NgoI to generate cohesive ends. PCR was performed using primer “endo V ds” with “endo V int us” to make a 457 base pair gene fragment. This fragment was restricted using NgoI and XhoI to generate cohesive ends. The fragments were ligated in a “3-way” reaction containing pET22b+ that had been linearized with NdeI and XhoI. After transformation into host E. coli strain JM109 (DE3), a clone was sequenced to confirm mutagenesis.

Protein was expressed and purified by standard techniques: Transformed E. coli JM109 (DE3) was grown in 2×YT medium and protein expression induced with IPTG. Protein was extracted into lysis buffer consisting of 10 mM HEPES buffer (pH 8), 1 M NaCl, 0.1% TritonX-100, 0.1% Tween-20, 10 mM n-ME, 5% glycerol, 10 mM Imidazole, with Roche “Complete” protease inhibitors. Sonication was used to disrupt the cells, and the extract clarified by centrifugation before application of the Ni-NTA resin. Captured protein was eluted into lysis buffer with 200 mM Imidazole. Batch mode capture, wash, and elution on Ni-NTA resin were preformed according to manufacturer recommendations (Qiagen Corp.). The eluate was dialyzed and stored in a buffer consisting of 10 mM HEPES buffer (pH 8), 150 mM NaCl, 0.1 mM EDTA, 0.01% TritonX-100, and 50% glycerol.

Example 12 Mutant Endo V Performance Characteristics

Reactions containing (25 mM Tris:borate 8.1, 5 mM MgCl, 1 mM DTT, 0.01% tween-20) and 1 pmole of FAM-I primer (SEQ ID NO.: 24) and 1 pmole HEX-C oligo (SEQ ID NO.: 25), pre-annealed, were incubated at 37° C. for (0, 5, 30, 60, 120, and 480 minutes) with either (1, 0.3, or 0.1 pmoles of) wild type or Y75A mutant E. coli endo V as indicated. Reactions were resolved by denaturing acrylamide gel electrophoresis and gels visualized by scanning on a Typhoon 9410. The small molecular weight nicked product was quantified and the relative fluorescence was compared and depicted in FIG. 11. Results indicate that the mutant enzyme supports repeated nicking by each enzyme, while the wild type enzyme seems capable of only a single round of nicking.

Example 13 Mutant Endo V Inosine Specificity

Reaction mixtures containing (25 mM Tris HCl 8.5, 5 mM MgCl, 1 mM DTT, 0.01% tween20, 10% glycerol) were prepared with 200 ng of either HindIII linearized pUC18 DNA or 200 ng of HindIII restricted pUC18 DNA that had been amplified using a modified rolling circle amplification reaction in which the dGTP has been substantially replaced with dITP to generate amplified material containing dIMP in place of dGMP, as indicated.

To the reaction was added either wild type or mutant E. coli endo V as indicated (0, 0.01, 0.1, or 1 microgram of protein), and incubated at 37° C. for 90 minutes. Reactions were then visualized by denaturing agarose gel electrophoresis, staining with SYBR gold and scanning on the Typhoon 9410. Results shown in FIG. 12 indicate that both wild type and mutant enzyme have at least 100× increased nicking activity toward inosine-containing DNA.

Example 14 Mutant Versus Wild Type Endonuclease

Time course of amplification was studied in reaction mix containing 10 mM Tris, pH 8.3, 2 mM MgCl₂, 0.01% Tween-20, 200 μM dNTP's, 10% Ethylene Glycol, 2 mM DTT, 25 ng/μL SSB, 10 nM Bst polymerase, Large Fragment, and 10 nM E. coli Endo V Y75A mutant. DNA substrate was 10 ng or 15 fmol of approximately 1 kb size PCR products made with I or G (penultimate base to 3′ end) containing PCR primers. Reactions were stopped at 15, 30, 60, 120, 240, 480, and 1260 min., by adding EDTA to 10 mM and samples were run on a 1% alkaline agarose gel to separate amplification products. Gels were then neutralized and stained with SYBR gold and scanned and quantified on Typhoon 9410 and ImageQuant image analysis software, as shown in FIG. 13.

TABLE 41 Name Sequence Length Forward primer 40FGI GTTTTCCCAGTCACGACGTT 34 GTAAAACGACGICC Reverse primer: TCAAAGAAGTATTGCTACAAC 23 GG Forward primer: GTTTTCCCAGTCACGACGTT 34 40FGG GTAAAACGACGGCC Reverse primer: TCAAAGAAGTATTGCTACAAC 23 GG

Example 15 Kinetics of Amplification: Comparison of E. coli Y75A Mutant Endo V versus Afu. Y74A Mutant Endo V

TABLE 42 Name Sequence Length Tban-1 DNA CAATAGACTCCATACCACCA 112 Template ATTGTAATTTCTGTACGTCT CTTATCATTGAAGCGCTCTT TTACTTCTGTTAATTCTTCA CGAATAATCTCAAGAACCTT TTCTTCATCTGC Tban-1 forward GCAGATGAAGAAAAGGTTC 33 primer: TTGAGATTATTCIT Tban-1 reverse CAATAGACTCCATACCACCA 34 primer ATTGTAATTTCTIT

Amplification reactions were carried out in reaction mix containing 10 mM Tris, pH 8.3, 3 mM MgCl2, 0.01% Tween-20, 250 μM dNTP's, 10% Ethylene Glycol, 1 mM DTT, 50 nM Bst polymerase, Large Fragment, or T. ma polymerase (100 ng), and 0.8 μM E. coli Endo V, Y75A mutant or 0.4 μM A. fu, Endo V, Y75A mutant. Both forward and reverse primers were maintained at 0.25 μM and template at 0.1 μM.

Reactions were incubated for 80 min at 45° C. and products were separated on TBE-Urea gel. Gels were stained using SYBR gold and scanned on Typhoon scanner as shown on FIG. 14.

Example 16 Thermal Stability of Mutant Endo V

E. coli Mut Endo V at a concentration of 1.6 μM was incubated at following temperatures: on ice, 37° C., 40° C., 43° C., 46° C., 49° C., 52° C., 55° C., and 58° C. for different amount of times such as 15, 30, 45, 60, and 75 min., in buffer containing 10 mM HEPES 7.9, 3 mM MgCl2, 0.25 mM dNTP, 1 mM DTT, 0.01% Tween, 10% ethylene glycol, and 0.5 μL ThermoFidelase (Fidelity Systems).

At time points indicated above samples were removed from the incubator and put on ice until all incubations were completed. To these pre-incubated samples following reaction components were added (10 mM HEPES 7.9, 0.25 mM dNTP, 1 mM DTT, 0.01% Tween, 10% ethylene glycol) and P1/P2-1/P3 primer mix (to 0.2/1/1.8 μM each), 0.5 nM template, 10 ng/μL of T4 g32 protein, 5 U Klenow exo-polymerase.

All reactions were then incubated at 45° C. for 80 min. Products were separated on TBE-Urea gel, that were stained using SYBR gold and scanned on Typhoon scanner (shown as FIG. 15).

Example 17 Real Time Analysis of Amplicon Generation

A dilution series of lambda DNA was prepared in HETB buffer (10 mM HEPES 7.9, 0.1 mM EDTA, 0.01% tween-20, 0.5 mg/ml BSA) and 10 pmoles each of the following primers: (7062F, 7079F, 7096F, 7111F, 7127F, 7144F, 7290R, 7270R, 7253R, 7234R, 7215R, 7194R, shown below in Table 43) and heat denatured for 2 minutes at 95° C. and then chilled on ice.

TABLE 43 Oligo Length 7290R 20 7270R 17 7253R 19 7234R 19 7215R 17 7194R 19 7062F 17 7079F 17 7096F 18 7111F 16 7127F 17 7144F 15 T7-7158F-misA: 50 Quencher-oligo 24 Dye-oligo

A mix containing components was then added to a final concentration of: 35 units delta Tts, 8 pmoles E. coli endo V Y75A, 0.002 mg SSB, 3 mM MgCl, 0.1 mM MnSO4, 3 pmole ROX std dye, 1× buffer (20 mM HEPES 7.9, 0.25 mM dNTP, 1 mM DTT, 0.01% Tween, 10% glycerol, and 10% ethylene glycol. Then 3 pmoles T7-7158F-misA, 4 pmoles quencher-oligo, 2.5 pmoles dye-oligo were mixed in HET buffer, heated to 95 degrees for 45 seconds and slow cooled to ice over 5 minutes and added to the amplification reaction.

The reactions were cycled an ABI 7500 75 times (46° C., 50 seconds; 45° C., 10 second), taking readings during the 46° C. step. This 1° C. cycle was employed because the ABI machine does not hold reactions at a single temperature. A 75-minute incubation was performed and data was exported to excel. The time at which each reaction produced a signal above a threshold level was plotted on a semi log scale. A linear curve was generated (shown in FIG. 16), indicating that the reaction gave reliable quantification over at least 5 orders of magnitude.

EQUIVALENTS

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The foregoing embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative rather than limiting on the invention described herein. The scope of the invention is thus indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein. 

1. A method of producing at least one amplicon based on a target DNA comprising: (a) providing a target DNA; (b) annealing at least one inosine-containing primer to the target DNA to create a target DNA:primer hybrid; (c) combining the target DNA:primer hybrid with a nuclease, which is capable of nicking DNA 3′ to an inosine residue; and (d) adding at least one DNA polymerase and a dNTP mixture to the DNA:primer hybrid mixture to make a reaction mixture and thereby produce at least one amplicon complementary to portions of the target DNA.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein steps (a)-(d) occur substantially simultaneously.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) occurs before step (c).
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein multiple forward and reverse inosine-containing primers are annealed to the target DNA.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the multiple inosine-containing primers include at least one extender template.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein all of steps (a)-(d) occur within a temperature range of 1° C., 5° C., or 10° C.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the inosine is positioned at least 4 nucleotides from the 5′ end of the at least one inosine-containing primer.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the nuclease comprises an endonuclease V.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the DNA polymerase is selected from exonuclease deficient T7 DNA polymerase, Bst DNA polymerase, exo (−) Klenow, delta Tts DNA polymerase, or combinations thereof.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the endonuclease is an endonuclease V selected from a protein the sequence of which consists of SEQ ID NO.:1 SEQ ID NO.: 2, or SEQ ID NO.: 3, or conservative variants thereof.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the dNTP mixture consists of dTTP, dGTP, dATP, and dCTP, present in the reaction mixture at a final concentration of 10 μM to 20,000 μM, 100 μM to 1000 μM, or 200 μM to 300 μM.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of denaturing the target DNA prior to the annealing step.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the denaturing step comprises chemically denaturing the target DNA.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the chemical denaturation is accomplished using a chemical denaturant selected from glycerol, ethylene glycol, formamide, or combinations thereof.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the chemical denaturation is present in the reaction mixture at a final concentration of 1% (v/v) to 25% (v/v).
 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the denaturing step comprises thermally denaturing the target DNA.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the denaturing step comprises heating the target DNA to 95° C.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein the reaction mixture includes a buffer selected from Tris, HEPES, or MOPS.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein the reaction mixture includes a surfactant selected from Tween-20, NP-40, Triton-X-100, or combinations thereof.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein the reaction mixture includes a divalent cation selected from Mn⁺², Mg⁺², or a combination thereof.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the divalent cation comprised MgCl₂ present in the reaction mixture at a final concentration of 2 mM to 6 mM.
 22. The method of claim 1, wherein the reaction mixture includes a reducing agent.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the reducing agent is selected from dithiothreitol (DTT), 2-mercaptoethanol (βME), 2-mercaptoethylamine (MEA), or Tris(carboxyethyl) phosphine (TCEP).
 24. The method of claim 1, wherein the reaction mixture includes at least one single stranded DNA binding protein.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein at least one single stranded DNA binding protein is selected from E. coli SSB, T4 gene 32 protein, T7 gene 2.5 protein, Ncp7, recA, or combinations thereof.
 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the at least one single stranded DNA binding protein is present in the reaction mixture at a final concentration of at least 1 ng/μL.
 27. The method of claim 1, wherein the reaction mixture includes at least one blocking agent including albumin.
 28. The method of claim 1, wherein the reaction mixture includes at least one topoisomerase.
 29. The method of claim 28, wherein said at least one topoisomerase comprises type 1 topoisomerase.
 30. The method of claim 28, wherein the topoisomerase is present in the reaction mixture at a final concentration of at least 1 ng/microliter.
 31. The method of claim 1, wherein the target DNA is of eukaryotic origin, prokaryotic origin, viral origin, bacteriophage origin, or synthetic origin.
 32. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one inosine-containing primer is 5 to 100 nucleotides in length, 5 to 30 nucleotides in length, or 5 to 20 nucleotides in length.
 33. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one inosine-containing primer demonstrates a melting temperature of 25° C. to 70° C., 30° C. to 65° C., or 40° C. to 55° C. in the reaction mixture.
 34. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one inosine-containing primer demonstrates a melting temperature of 45° C. in the reaction mixture. 